Every year, Rwanda’s music industry makes momentous strides, but 2024 has arguably exceeded expectations. The year started in style with youngsters dropping smash hit songs and the last 12 months have not been different. Overall, 2024 leaves notable achievements for the entire creative industry and music in particular. The list might be long but having Rwandan song debuting on the Billboard music charts, then an artiste submitting a song for the Grammy’s and the surge in concerts by Rwandan musicians across the globe deserve a special mention to elaborate how far Rwandan music has gone in the last 12 months. As the year comes to a close, The New Times picks 10 hit songs that dominated the charts in Rwanda in no particular order. Wait - Kivumbi King ft. Axon In January, just 15 days into 2024, Rwandan artiste Kivumbi King teamed up with Uganda’s renowned producer Axon, and blessed their fans with Wait, one of the biggest collaborations to come out of Rwanda this year. The song, produced in Afro-fusion by Axon, quickly captivated attention of not only Rwandan listeners but also the region and African continent in general, pushing it to generate close 10 million streams on different streaming platforms. In a previous interview with The New Times, Kivumbi King said that the song opened many doors for him and helped him connect with international singers from across the globe. Wait later appeared on his second album ‘Ganza’ released on May 17. Bwe Bwe Bwe - Bruce the 1st ft. Ish Kevin, Kenny Kshot and Bulldog 2024 has been undoubtedly the year for hip hop and Rwandan rappers did not disappoint their fan base in delivery. Among the key highlights is the return of old school hip hop on Rwanda’s mainstream music, which was escalated by the young generation that jumped on the genre in big numbers. Among them is Bruce the 1st, one of Rwanda’s promising rappers. In March, he blessed Rwandan hip hop community with a new track dubbed ‘Bwe Bwe Bwe’ produced in the old school hip hop of the 90s and early 2000s. Produced by Juni Quickly, the song features Bruce the 1st's long-time collaborators Ish Kevin, Kenny K Shot and seasoned rapper Bulldog who is not a newcomer in making old-school hip hop bangers. The song started making noise after its official release and it has since become a big deal in Rwanda’s music scene. Jugumila – DJ Phil Peter ft. Chris Eazy and Kevin Kade The Afrobeats genre also stood out in Rwanda this year, thanks to artistes like Chris Eazy and Kevin Kade among others who kept partygoers entertained over the year. The two artistes, alongside Phil Peter, produced one of the hits of 2024 Jugumila which many regard as the song of the year. Produced by Element Pro in a groovy Afropiano beat, Jugumila has close to 10 million views on YouTube, making it one of the most streamed Rwandan songs this year. It recently won the song of the year prize at Isango na Muzika Awards 2024. Sikiliza - Israel Mbonyi Israel Mbonyi leads the pack of the most streamed Rwandan artistes in 2014 after his most viral song ‘Nina Siri’ hit 68 million views only on YouTube. This year, the artiste didn’t rest but kept dominating East African charts with new releases including ‘Sikiliza’ which is number one most streamed song of the year. This came after he shifted his venture in into Swahili music through 'Nina Siri' which marked a significant expansion of his musical repertoire and influence. This extended his musical impact beyond Rwanda, touching lives throughout the East African community and earning him big gigs in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, where he drew tens of thousands of revelers to some of the biggest venues in the three neighbouring countries. Iyo Foto - Bruce Melodie ft. Bien Aime Bien Aime Baraza, a former member of Kenyan bay band Sauti Sol, this year made his entry into Rwanda’s music scene with a collaboration with Bruce Melodie on Iyo Foto.” The song, which is among 17 tracks on Melodie’s new album ‘Colorful Generation,’ was shot in Kigali and, according to Bien Aime, it is a remarkable project for both East Africa and the continent. I believe this partnership will be exceptional. West Africa has led the way, and now it's time for East African artists to join forces,” Baraza told The New Times. Directed by Fayzo Pro, Iyo Foto premiered on September 27, and has received positive feedback from key figures in Rwanda’s music industry and is regarded as one of the year's top collaborations of 2024. Plenty - The Ben Rwandan RnB sensation The Ben has made a remarkable comeback in 2024, filled with the release of numerous hits that helped his fans end the year in style. Among his biggest songs of this year is ‘Plenty’ which was produced by fast-rising producer Prince Kiiiz in Afrobeats. Prior its official release, the song had already made headlines after The Ben- who refers to himself as “Tiger B” asked fans to guess the name of the new song for a cash prize of Rwf500,000 for one lucky guesser. Plenty is now a big tune in Rwanda and has close to three million views on YouTube within less than two months. Sekoma - Chriss Eazy Chriss Eazy, one of the best Rwandan artistes today, has had a great year full of milestones and he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The producer-cum-singer, signed to Giti Entertainment Group, produced and featured on some of the best songs of the year including Sekoma that premiered on June 16. Sekoma was produced by Element of 1:55AM and has over five million streams on different streaming platforms. Amategeko 10 - Riderman ft. Bulldog The year 2024 leaves hip hop fans and artistes at the top of Rwanda’s music scene, sparked by the genres comeback in the country’s mainstream music through releasing big tracks and hosting successful concerts throughout the year. One of the biggest achievements that Rwandan hip hop music witness this year was the release of Icyumba Cy’ Amategeko, a joint EP by two of Rwanda’s top rappers, Bulldog and Riderman, which consists of most tracks produced in the old school hip hop. Among the most trending tracks on the tape include ‘Amategeko 10’ which narrates the struggles of hip hop genre in the country among other issues. The EP also features tracks like Nkubona Fo, Hip Hop, Mu Banigga among others. Mami - Ross Kana Ross Kana, the youngest member of 1:55AM record label, is among Rwandan artistes that shines this year. This year, the youngster produced Mami, one of the bangers to come out of Rwanda this year. Mami was produced by Element, and it is Ross Kana’s first song produced in Afrobeats genre. The song has over 2,000,000 streams on different social media platforms within a month. Kikakane - Pyfo ft. Kivumbi King Pyfo, one of Rwanda’s finest DJs popularly known of producing club bangers, recently teamed with Kivumbi King and created one of the most trending songs in the country, Kikakane. Produced by Huybbie, Kikankane followed, Solo and Kantona, some of the songs that made Pyfo a household name in the country.
